Eye - 25 March 2011
From pole to poll
Plagued by bells…
Eye was prompted to delve into dusty tomes recently in an attempt to shed some light on enquiries from our Friend, Richard Lee.
While reading some of Samuel Pepys’ diary entries written during the great plague he stumbled upon a reference to Quakers.
In the week ending 20 August 1665, Pepys wrote: ‘In the City died this week 7,496, and of them 6,102 of the plague. But it is feared that the true number of the dead this week is 10,000 – partly from the poor that cannot be taken notice of through the greatness of the number, and partly from the Quakers and others that will not have any bell rung for them’.
Richard wonders whether Quakers disapproved of having a bell rung to mark their passing, or whether the authorities considered them unworthy of having their departure acknowledged in that way.
Eye went on a mission to uncover more information only to find a brief comment on how Quakers, and other dissenters, were not included in the death count because they were recorded in their own registers.
It must be thanks to those registers that William Beck and T Frederick Ball, authors of the 1869 book The London Friends’ Meetings, are able to tell us that in Bunhill Fields burial ground: ‘There lie about 1,100 Friends who were carried off in that terrible year of the Great Plague’.
… and by birds
Two experts in flying have joined the staff at Leighton Park School, Eye has been informed. The nine-month-old Harris hawks have had ‘a progressive training programme to familiarise them with the school grounds’. The birds will be used across the science curriculum, especially in physics. Eye hopes they successfully impart their aerodynamic skills to their students!
Awry look at the Quaker world
Janet Arnold of Winscombe, Somerset, sent a poetic reprimand to Eye’s inbox this week, asking in addition that we learn our lesson by writing out ten times: ‘A pole is a magnetic extremity. A poll is a bird’s head.’ The bird concerned was a ‘lesser redpoll’.
She says that this is ‘for the birds’:
The ‘look’ of Quaker Eye so normally impeccable,
With details for the spirit and the head,
Last week has had a lapse of spelling truly wreckable.
My eye could scarce believe it when I read.
The North Pole and the South Pole are concepts quite familiar,
And now, to my amazed imagination,
The Red Pole joins their ranks, and what is sillier,
Is that it’s found upon a feeding station.
So, all dear Friends, Look out! Take heed!
Perhaps you may be able
To see this Pole among the seed
Upon your own Bird Table.
More census suggestions
Margaret Cook of Milton Keynes Meeting took up Eye’s challenge of last week sending in the following seventeen-letter expressions of Quakerism:
You are a child of God
Live adventurously
Peace and stillness
God is in all persons
She adds in conclusion that she will be answering Question 20 with one word: ‘Quaker’.
Comments
It seems to me that some Friends are more concerned with Being Quaker” than “Doing Quaker” I am bemused by some Friends concern with wanting to participate in the census in order to record the fact that they are Quakers in the religion question. Have they overlooked the fact that this is the ONE question on the form that is optional and therefore the chance of having reliable data on religious affiliation and identity is seriously undermined. I would have expected Friends to be more concerned with the government using an arms manufacturer to carry it out and the threat of a large fine and criminalisation for refusing to complete the census. Let the world know there are Quakers because we strive to live by our deeds not creeds…......”
By miriam on 24th March 2011 - 14:01
Please login to add a comment
